Cavaion Veronese

Cavaion Veronese is a charming, characterful village set on the gently rolling Veneto hills with their vineyards and olive groves.

A country village where a rich historical and architectural heritage of beautiful villas built by noble families between the 16th and 19th centuries. They are country mansions in various architectural styles which harmonise with nature and give life to the lyricism of the Veneto countryside which is so full of romantic suggestion.

Cavaion is a little village with a great history, its first settlement going back to the Bronze Age close to the Ca' Nova pond, at the foot of the latter-day village. The local Town Hall is also the seat of the Archeological Museum where remarkable evidence to this ancient civilisation is kept.

It was during the Roman occupation, around the 1st Century BC that Cavaion started to develop into a more important centre. At that time, villa farms were being built which, through the agricultural development taking place, radically changed the landscape. Some splendid ancient villas can now be admired which are built over the remains of the ancient Roman ones.

Over the centuries, the village saw various eras of domination among which the most important being the Lombards and the Franks. During the Middle Ages, Cavaion was part of the land belonging to the Scaligeri then in 1405 it passed into the great dominions of the Republic of Venice, remaining there for 400 years. Before the Unification of Italy, the last and final domination was Austrian.

The history of Cavaion can be quite easily reconstructed by visiting the little archeological museum in the Town Hall, which has a collection of fascinating Prehistoric and Roman remains, but a visit to the numerous churches in the village would be equally informative and interesting: The 9th century Church dedicated to San Michele, the 13th Century John the Baptist Church, and the Romanesque Santa Croce as well as Villa Cordevigo's own 17th Century St Martin's Church and San Gaetano's 18th Century one.

And we recommend a tour of the villas which the Veneto nobles built on their estates to reside in during their leisure time spent in close contact with nature, but also overseeing their country businesses. Among these are Villa Cordevigo, Villa Ravignani, Villa Trombetta and Villa Bonazzo.